Need sound system suggestions please!

DiamondJoeQuimby said:

No, a Dyson Vaccuum sucks, stock speakers are absolutely horrid

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That is true...but they do sound a LOT better with a nice high-end aftermarket headunit. I would recommend swapping the headunit first and then changing the stock speakers...except the subs...they have to go

Easy to swap out the headunit and keep the stock speakers. I installed mine using these parts from www.Buy.com - the removal tools are not correct though, had to use 4-large nails to remove the stock headunit. All you have to do is go to buy.com and search for these parts using the 'SKU' numbers below. They will be at your door withing a few business days...

I respectfully disagree. In general, exchange front speakers first; our subs are not that bad for their size. Then change HU, then subs. Zach seems to want big bass though. So new subs and amps will be a must. Do you still have stuff from the Tahoe left over?

I'd go for a nice Alpine single DIN HU for around 300. Lothar dug out a very nice Kenwood (what was the price on that? <200?). That should also do the trick.

The sub install question is crucial. You can only fit 8" in the parcel shelf and even then you get into trouble with mounting depth and free air specs. The sides fit 10 inchers in a sealed box with a volume of ca. 0.5 cuft. And they must not have a bigger mounting depth than 5.5 inch which is already the utmost limit without using fiberglass. Audiobahn has some 12 inchers, AWP312T I believe, that only have 4.5" mounting depth and can do free air. That might be a possibility but they are expensive (at least 240 a piece from non-authorized dealer otherwise 450). Also I have no idea how they might sound and if the side panels wouldn't just fly off. That leaves you with the ritual trunk sacrifice if you want really big bass.

But just for the sake of calculating system cost let's throw in 2x200$ for subs. Our current front system consists of coax tweeters in the door and imaging tweeters in the dash. The locations are not so bad but the speakers suck. Go for a 2way component system installed in the stock location. Add some imaging tweeters in the A-pillars or even in the dash. Count around $300 for something really decent. You are at 900-1000$ now. Get a good 4ch brandmark amp for around $300. Use our current little amp in the trunk to power the rearfills in the side panels or use the HU amp for those. That is if you don't put subs there. In that case you can still put rearfills in the parcel shelf. So you got about $200 left for various installation materials. This fills out your previous $1500 budget.

You can save here with the subs; 2x130$ will already be good subs. And also the component for the front could probably be had for around $200.

Installation cost is between $40 and $80 per hour. It will realistically take some 15 hours to install. So plan not having your car for two days or doing it yourself.

Cheaper route is what I wrote in another thread like this. Lothar's Kenwood unit, JBL GTO or Infinity speakers all around and Kicker 8" free air subs in parcel shelf. You are talking around $600 now, I think. Then find an amp or two for $200. Quite a killer system for relatively little cash and easy use of the stock install locations.

Till